KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After a strong start to the 2025-26 season, the Loyola University New Orleans women's basketball team made an appearance in the NAIA's first Coaches' Top 25 Poll of the season on Wednesday. The Wolf Pack checked in at No. 22 as the only team in the Southern States Athletic Conference ranked.
The Pack is 3-1 overall this season, with their lone loss coming to No. 11 Langston (Okla.) by five points on a neutral floor. Loyola has wins over LSU Alexandria, which began the season in the receiving votes category of the NAIA Top 25, and then-No. 22 ranked LSU Shreveport.
Led by junior Deniya Thornton's 20.3 points per game, the Wolf Pack has four student-athletes averaging in double figures through the first four games of the season. Junior Caitlin Travis (14), junior Alissa O'Dell (12.5) and senior SeQuoia Carroll (10) give Loyola plenty of scoring options on the offensive end of the floor. Those four also lead the way in rebounding, as O'Dell averages a team-high 9.3 boards per game, followed by Carroll (8.3), Thornton (6.8) and Travis (5.8). Freshman Chandler Caver leads the team with four assists per game, and Thornton has a team-high 11 steals and five blocks.
Loyola is set to host Philander Smith (Ark.) at 12 p.m. on Thursday for its annual School Day Game. After that is an exhibition against NCAA Division I New Orleans next Wednesday, Nov. 19, before a SSAC-opener road trip to (RV) William Carey on Saturday, Nov. 22.
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